Gardens near Copenhagen – a way of life

You might think these are film sets from some distant planet, but in fact these are shared gardens near Copenhagen (Denmark). There, Danes can grow their own vegetables, and the landowners also have the opportunity to rent out their gardens.

The land can also be rented out, but the houses are private property. Permanent residence is required, located no more than 20 kilometers from the plot, in order to buy a home in the green district near Copenhagen. The houses in Brøndby Garden City are equipped with sewerage, running water and electricity. Residents are free to invest in improvements to their houses, such as solar panels.

The “garden city” is a place with numerous small gardens and cottages arranged in concentric circles. The idea is for people here to escape the big city, the noise and the crowds and to create their own world, close to nature and in line with the fashion of urban agriculture, which is popular in these latitudes. 

In 1964 the municipality of Brøndby decided that this area around Copenhagen should be transformed into a new way of living. The architects of this project focused on the idea of more complete socialization of the residents in an environment different from the urban space. Each house has a large yard where the joy of developing one’s own smallholding is shared with the neighbours.

People do not actually live there all year round, but during the warm months they can stay in their suburban green oasis and devote themselves entirely to gardening and to the feeling that they can produce their own vegetables for dinner.

The photographs were taken by American photographer Henry Do